In the News… quick recap of the week’s news – Feb. 21, 2026

RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY

Couple on the Cape fell through the ice while walking their dog – rescuers attempted to reach them but it’s believed they both died

7^th child died of flu in MA – 7 adults died also – 260 total deaths so far in 2026

The Sandwich Hut in Pawtucket named the best “Hole-in-the-Wall” Sandwich shop in all of RI

$62M renovation planned for the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine

A South Boston family built an igloo in the backyard which was covered on the news and the next night, vandals with sledgehammers came by and destroyed it

University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees votes confidence in state legislative commission’s recommendation to establish a public medical school at URI, citing the critical shortage of primary care physicians.

2nd round of RI Tax Docs being received by state employees again, reading, from the “State of Rhode Island Umbrella Company”

Sounds of a shooting in the Lincoln Mall parking lot

Restaurateur Dino Passaretta will open a new Providence restaurant at 186 Wayland Ave.

Baystate Health will no longer prescribe hormones or puberty blockers to transgender patients under 18 in a move the system said would protect its Medicaid and Medicare funding.

Joe Abouzeid is back at WPRI 12 as the new vice president and general manager

Brown sophomore found dead in her dorm – foul play not suspected

Motorized wheelchair escorted by police on Route 10 – owner took the highway because the side roads were too crowded

Roger Williams Park Zoo announced the death of a 19-year old male Matschie’s tree kangaroo, a member of a critically endangered species

URI trustees OK 3.5% tuition hike, higher fees|

A new $2.34 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, to remove 250 tons of old wood pilings — which are considered hazardous waste — from the Providence River.

Brown Esports club opened their gaming lounge to Brown and RISD community members on Jan. 24 at the Brown Bookstore

Providence family suing Bell Funeral Home and RI Hospital for giving the wrong body to be buried – eventually having to disinter the body and bury the right one, which had medical tubes and lines still attached to it

The Narragansett Town Council voted unanimously last night to ensure members of the Narragansett Tribe have meaningful access to the Narragansett Town Beach, including issuance of up to 75 parking passes without fees.

Gov. Dan McKee today appointed Zachary M. Mandell to serve as chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC). Mandell is replacing outgoing chair Krystle G. Tadesse.

Cranston covered a $6.5M deficit with reserves

Bryant will host the Ghana team for FIFA and staying at The Graduate in Providence

CRU PVD Restaurant in Providence’s West End closed abruptly to “reassess” – owned by Morin’s Catering

Police warn public of planned ‘mall takeover’ at South Shore Plaza

3 snowplow devices were stolen from the town of Johnston in the early morning of 2/18 and found by police in a Johnston resident’s property in the afternoon – 1 plow had been put onto a truck and 2 others in the garage

State of RI tax forms for state employees were re-issued – once again incorrect for the name of the state “Umbrella Company” – media reports also say that the state may have no way of knowing exactly what people are missing from their pay in the last quarter of 2025 and until now as paychecks have had consistent errors

Boston Red Sox uniforms will be redone as lettering was too close together and fans and team objected

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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL  

Obama Presidential Library will open in June in Chicago – center will be a music/podcast studio for young people – it will help build a “community of activists”

Average of national variety of polls shows more than 80% of favor requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote.

Most expensive cars? Porsche followed by Land Rover, Cadillac, Mercedes and BMW – while overall costs for cars have dropped by over 2%.

So. Korean past president found guilty of insurrection

About 1 in 8 US adults is taking a GLP-1 as of November 2025

DHS is building out a series of “warehouses” that will be detention facilities

DC just experienced the largest sewage spill in U.S. history, with 240 million gallons flooding the Potomac in one month.

Japan’s leadership bans all public displays of Islam, including calls to prayer, street prayers, and large mosques, and has blocked further production of halal food and Muslim cemeteries, stating that Japanese burial customs must now be followed.

AI taking over translation services

Anderson Cooper to leave 60 Minutes – part of CBS changes

2 Olympians finished their events going backwards due to falls or near falls – one short speed skating and one a downhill snow event

Tom Pritzker, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels, resigns from position over ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

IRS data suggests the average tax refund is nearly $2,300, up almost 11% from last year.

Shamrock Shakes back at McDonalds

ICE fully withdrawn from Portland, Chicago and LA

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson changes: Tricia McLaughlin will be and Katie Zacharia, a lawyer will be taking over

Muslim recognition of Ramaden began Feb. 18^th – fasting for 30 days

Jerusalem opened an ancient Pilgrims’ Road, which will let visitors walk a 2,000-year-old route.

If the Gov. doesn’t let him raise taxes on corporations and wealthy, Mayor Mamdani said he will raid the city’s rainy day fund, the retirement fund and raise taxes on property owners across the board 9%. That would mean owners would increase rentals by the same.

Cardi B said after her current tour is over she will leave the US for 3 months to have her butt implants removed.

Lindsey Vonn returned home by private jet

The Habanos Festival, the annual cigar fair held in Havana, Cuba, has been postponed as the island nation faces a fuel crisis that has diverted travel to the country

This week begins LENT

In England, a Snickers bar costs an average of $13

Passover 2026 is April 1-9

Cuba’s tourism business is nearly zero’d out as hotels close, beaches empty and planes no longer flying in – all due to no oil being shipped in to Cuba.

Head of NIH, Jay Bhattacharya, will run CDC until a permanent director is found.

NY Hospital no longer performing gender surgeries on children

Spirit Airlines, struggling to find crews and flight attendants to staff its airplanes, has canceled more than 250 flights since Friday, Feb. 13, with many of them stranding passengers at South Florida airports

Reese’s has replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut butter‑style crème across multiple Reese’s products

FCC is investigating The View for violations of the “equal-time” rule regarding political candidates running for office.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has approved the plans to build a ballroom where the East Wing of the White House stood

California wine giant Gallo to close Bay Area facilities, laying off nearly 100 workers there and at four other wineries and tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma

Olympic closing ceremonies will take place SUNDAY at 2:30pm – Winter Olympics 2030 will be played in the French Alps

The IRS has issued a list of professions that people can have up to $25K in tips exempt from taxes – https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Tipped-Occupations-Detailed-8-27-2025.pdf

Former Prince Andrew arrested and released pending charges of suspicion of wrong doing while in office

US will commit $10 billion to his “Board of Peace.”

Avalanche kills 2 men, 7 women in California

Amazon surpassed Walmart in annual sales ($717 billion to $713.2 billion), but that was mostly due to the growth of its cloud-computing business, which Walmart doesn’t have.

Arts commission approves $400M White House ballroom renovation plans

Ebay buying 2^nd hand fashion app – DePop from Etsy

Glyphosate – such as what is contained in RoundUp may be reauthorized for use – much to the opposition of the MAHA movement and effort to keep artificial ingredients out of the food supply

SCOTUS strikes down global tariffs – still can do tariffs, but they must be done on an individual basis, one by one. Decision 6-3.  Within hours, Pres. Trump called the judges “fools and lapdogs” of RINOs and immediately put a 10% temporary tariff (120 days) using a different section of the law – saying that now the indecision of tariffs is clear.

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PASSINGS

Eric Dane, 53, actor, of ALS

George Delany, 79, known for his art in RI, Art Club

Robert Duvall, 95, actor

Jesse Jackson, 84, pillar of the civil rights movement

Tom Noonan, 74, actor

Helen Taylor, 85, former Warwick City Councilwoman